bjosko Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 This might have been posted here before. Still an interesting video about how it works. 3 Quote /Bjørn - old gearjunkie, still with lot of GAS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Emm Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I know how it works, heh! You either buy one of Marcus Resch's excellent digital Mellotrons or you take up GForce's comprehensive plug-in, M-Tron Pro. You can buy the real thing from mellotron.com, but I'm slightly afraid of people who are willing to tackle tape racks. Its a clarion call to madness. I'm a constant M-Tron player, but I'd play the kazoo before I'd engage in a masochism tango like that. OTOH, I love the unsane instrument so much, I hear Mellotrons playing under part of my dreams. I've got it bad! Quote As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life- so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls. ~ Matt Cartmill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radagast Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Wow I didn’t realize Mellotrons had reverb back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old No7 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Cool. Makes me want to say -- "Strawberry Fields Forever!" Old No7 1 Quote Yamaha MODX6 * Hammond SK Pro 73 * Roland Fantom-08 * Crumar Mojo Pedals * Mackie Thump 12As * Tascam DP-24SD * JBL 305 MkIIs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou_NC Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 The narrator didn't mention it specifically, but obviously there is a finite "time limit" that you can hold a note until it.......just stops playing! Probably not that big a deal in an actual song, but still...... I had always assumed that they used tape loops not strips. Overall, quite an intriguing electro-mechanical design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Ok so that's where the Tron comes from but where does it get its Mello and is that where Donovan got his Mello Yellow? Quite Rightly. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanzarek Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 The Mellotron name was derived as an abbreviation of Melody Electronics. Of course, the original design concept goes back to keyboards first built by Harry Chamberlin in the 1950s. The Chamberlin company was a small operation in Southern California with many of their customers being Hollywood recording studios. The company may have kept a low profile due to Musicians Union opposition to an instrument that was perceived as capable of replacing real orchestra musicians. Not knowing that the design was patented the company that became Mellotronics, Ltd. produced their first model in about 1963 based on Chamberlin instruments brought to England by a Chamberlin employee. Quote Gibson G101, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, Vox Continental, RMI Electra-Piano and Harpsichord 300A, Hammond M102A, Hohner Combo Pianet, OB8, Matrix 12, Jupiter 6, Prophet 5 rev. 2, Pro-One, CS70M, CP35, PX-5S, WK-3800, Stage 3 Compact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 OTOH I've never been impressed when an orchestra tries to replace a mellotron. 20 violins sawing away on Kashmir comes to mind. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 7 hours ago, Lou_NC said: I had always assumed that they used tape loops not strips. There was a tape loop based design financed by Rick Wakeman - the Birotron. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birotron 2 Quote Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jverghese Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 From Sound On Sound magazine: "This limitation regarding sustain was the biggest frustration for most Mellotron players and it spawned a unique 'crawling spider' playing technique, whereby sounds would be artificially sustained by playing different inversions of chords before the tapes ran out." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 On 3/16/2024 at 3:55 PM, David Emm said: Its a clarion call to madness. I'm a constant M-Tron player, but I'd play the kazoo before I'd engage in a masochism tango like that. OTOH, I love the unsane instrument so much, I hear Mellotrons playing under part of my dreams. I've got it bad! Call me “Totally Mad” as I own one M300 and two M400’s. Regarding reverb, that was only available on the M300 model. The model 400 did not have reverb. What you are hearing in the video is reverb added through some kind of pre amplification. FYI, when I perform I use samples that I recorded from all my studio machines. 1 1 Quote '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 1 1 Quote '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Here's mine. Not the real deal, but still makes the hair stand up on my arms. 1 Quote Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old No7 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 1 hour ago, HammondDave said: Call me “Totally Mad” as I own... Looking at that list PLUS the list in your footer, well OK then -- as you asked for it: You're totally mad!!! 😉 Got GAS much?!?! Old No7 Quote Yamaha MODX6 * Hammond SK Pro 73 * Roland Fantom-08 * Crumar Mojo Pedals * Mackie Thump 12As * Tascam DP-24SD * JBL 305 MkIIs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I have streetlytron on iPad. The green version. IDK how much better a tape or the digital HW can be but streetlytron is pretty great plus I get around 3 octaves instead of 2. I can nail Court of the Crimson King all day. Now if I can only find a band remotely interested in playing that music. All the bands around here want to play sharp dressed man. And the dum crowds are happy with that too. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanzarek Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 When the Mellotron first became available it was marketed as a home keyboard that a novice could play due to the pre-recorded accompaniment patterns on the left-hand keys. The thing was expensive so it wasn't something the average person would buy to play at home. Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues replaced those left-hand patterns with additional instrument sounds. He was friends with John Lennon and told him he should check it out. All four Beatles bought Mellotrons. 1 Quote Gibson G101, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, Vox Continental, RMI Electra-Piano and Harpsichord 300A, Hammond M102A, Hohner Combo Pianet, OB8, Matrix 12, Jupiter 6, Prophet 5 rev. 2, Pro-One, CS70M, CP35, PX-5S, WK-3800, Stage 3 Compact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Emm Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 7 hours ago, HammondDave said: FYI, when I perform I use samples that I recorded from all my studio machines. Smart move. I retain a small dose of shock that anyone ever toured with them. The basic delicacy has "studio use only" written on it in bold case. I went to see Triumvirat open for ELO, but their Mellotron snarled and local radio blared forth from their apparently unshielded Minimoogs. ⚡Early analog at its finest. 😬 Concerning the Mellotron's predecessor, the Chamberlin, Tom Waits once said "Its a beautiful instrument that dies a little every time you play it." All too true. Quote As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life- so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls. ~ Matt Cartmill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K K Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 4 hours ago, David Emm said: Concerning the Mellotron's predecessor, the Chamberlin, Tom Waits once said "Its a beautiful instrument that dies a little every time you play it." All too true. Yep, sold my M400S for that reason some decades ago. The tapes would slowly but surely sound more and more "metallic" from magnetization and wear, so since back then (around 1988) Mellotrons stopped being produced, I though I better get rid of it as it became impossible to get new tapes. Funnily, that is the only instrument I could sell for the same price I paid, as it was still extremely looked after. I also had the fancy Mellotron cushioned cover in black leather that protected the whole instrument for transport. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 59 minutes ago, K K said: Yep, sold my M400S for that reason some decades ago. The tapes would slowly but surely sound more and more "metallic" from magnetization and wear, so since back then (around 1988) Mellotrons stopped being produced, I though I better get rid of it as it became impossible to get new tapes. Funnily, that is the only instrument I could sell for the same price I paid, as it was still extremely looked after. I also had the fancy Mellotron cushioned cover in black leather that protected the whole instrument for transport. you can still buy tapes from Streetly…. But who knows how long that will last. Quote '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjosko Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 All ( or most of ) the Mellotron and Chamberlin samples are available for download at Nord, if you have a Nord that can handle the samples. I briefly tried out a couple just for fun. It might work in a studio mix or at home entertainment, more modern samples are working better for live use. And you missed the real instrument with all its personality. Quote /Bjørn - old gearjunkie, still with lot of GAS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 A good Mellotron thread (marvelously characterful instrument, where would prog be without it) can always benefit from a Rick Wakeman wisecrack. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dglcomp Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Mellotron?, Pah! Or not!, Quote Stuff: Roland:SH-201/U-110/S-330/TR-626/M-48 Akai: miniAK/S6000 Yamaha:DX9/HS8/xs7 Korg:05R/W/AX10G Alesis: Vortex MK1 CME: UF70 classic V2/WIDI Behringer: DSP2024Px2/UMC204HD/101/340/D/03/8 ESI:1010e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Why do I keep thinking about professor Farnsworth and his Smellotron or was it the smelloscope. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Mike Metlay Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Another recovering Mellotron addict here. I have nearly every software Tron ever, and even owned a Nord Wave for a little while just to have Tron sounds on board in a hardware synth.... but a real one? I'd quit music first, I think. Pea Hicks is an expert at repairing them, and suggests that the first tool you invest in is an engine block crane to make the guts easier to get at. Hard pass. mike 1 Quote Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1 clicky!: more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my book ~ my music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Emm Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 If I took on a real Mellotron, you could set your watch. Within a few days, I'd be seen on TMZ, rolling around naked in a mass of tapes, laughing and crying. They'd shine high beams on me and I'd freeze like a deer. That's when they'd hit me with the trank darts. They wouldn't work well enough right away, so I'd ask for three more, just to take the edge off. Yeah, better stick with the software. 😬 1 Quote As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life- so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls. ~ Matt Cartmill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 In a mix or on a loud stage, would a real tape Mel sound that much better than Streetlytron pro? Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Mike Metlay Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 39 minutes ago, Baldwin Funster said: In a mix or on a loud stage, would a real tape Mel sound that much better than Streetlytron pro? SHHHHHHHHHH! Quote Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1 clicky!: more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my book ~ my music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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